IMF ups GCC 2014 growth forecast to 4.4%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has increased its forecast economic growth for the GCC to 4.4 percent in 2014.

The IMF had predicted the oil-rich group of six Gulf states to expand 3.78 percent in its May report but deputy managing director Nemat Shafiq said growth in the GCC was forecast to pick up in 2014, “as oil production rises and the non-oil sector benefits from the large infrastructure projects being implemented”.

The aggregate economic growth for 2013 would be 3.7 percent, Shafiq said at a meeting with GCC finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh on Saturday, according to Arab News.

“[The] GCC has continued to be one of the most performing economies,” she said.

The bloc recorded “an exceptional growth” of 6.4 per cent in the past two years.

Shafiq also highlighted the Gulf’s contribution to other economies via remittances from the millions of foreign workers in the region.

“[The] contribution of your economies to the international economy is vital,” Shafiq said.